Daemon Targaryen began charting his own path in the second episode of . He’s still working with Rhaenyra to a degree, but he clearly wants the Iron Throne for himself. He can’t have that throne if Aegon II wins the Dance of the Dragons, so he has embarked on a mission with his dragon, Caraxes, to take Harrenhal and build an army in the Riverlands. In Sunday’s new episode, Daemon arrives at the cursed castle, and we get a glimpse of the devastation that awaits as the war rages on. WARNING: This article contains spoilers from House of the Dragon AND George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood…
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House of the Dragon has been building up to the devastating Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, as depicted in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. That book is providing the road map for House of the Dragon, so viewers who look into that text can get a clue about how this war will ultimately shake out. There’s one ominous line of dialogue in Episode 3 that alludes to a major moment of Fire & Blood‘s account of the war: The death of Daemon Targaryen.
After Harrenhal is surrendered to Daemon by Simon Strong and the few soldiers who didn’t die in the castle’s fire, the Targaryen prince has a chilling vision. He walks through the halls of the castle and ends up in a room where he finds a young Rhaenyra (with Season 1 star Milly Alcock reprising her role) sewing on the head of the slain Prince Jaehaerys back on his body. Daemon sees firsthand the consequences of his actions.
When he snaps out of the vision, Daemon finds himself standing in front of a weirwood tree in the middle of a crumbled hall. He’s approached by the woman known as Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), who simply tells him, “You will die in this place,” before walking away.
Daemon Targaryen’s Death
Daemon likely isn’t going to be dying on House of the Dragon any time soon, but that message from Alys does seem to confirm that the series will follow he roadmap laid out for Daemon in Fire & Blood.
In the book, Daemon is killed during one of the darkest days in Targaryen history. At Harrenhal, Daemon and Caraxes challenged Aemond Targaryen and the monstrous dragon Vhagar. The fight, known as the Battle Above God’s Eye, ended with both dragons and both riders falling into the God’s Eye lake (where Harrenhal is located).
Again, it’s worth noting that these events could absolutely change in House of the Dragon, but it’s a future to prepare for given Alys’ haunting warning.
Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.
The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower.
